By the time that Mario Chalmers was done, he had accomplished something that only Brian Shaw had among Heat players, and no one ever had in this building, drilling 10 3-pointers for a career-high 34 points.

“I got some easy looks early,” Chalmers said after the 128-99 victory. “From there, you just got that feeling that you can’t miss.”

Chalmers made eight of them in the first three quarters, after which all the other starters would rest for the night. But, knowing the Heat record, he petitioned for a return, and Spoelstra obliged for three minutes. After that, the coach got a bit uncomfortable, concerned about the integrity of the game: “It’s not about trying to embarrass the other team and just go for records at the expense of the integrity of the game.”

Still, he was pleased with Chalmers, especially after a conversation they had following the point guard’s post-game comments in Portland. Chalmers had admitted that he found it challenging, after sitting for 16 game minutes, to launch the final shot against the Blazers, one that didn’t connect in a two-point loss. Spoelstra explained that there shouldn’t be excused, that he had used Chalmers in that situation because he trusted him, because “at the end of the game, he’s going to hunt for an open shot and he’s going to take it with as much confidence as anybody in this league at that moment.”